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The only thing better for a business than having access to massive amounts of data is being able to present it in a way that makes sense to executives in the C-suite. A small but growing community of data scientists -- such as the team at U.K.-based Atheon Analytics -- is translating Big Data in visually compelling applications that unlock its meaning. "There's an awful lot of value in data, in telling a story from it," said Guy Cuthbert, Atheon's managing director. "A tremendous amount of the work we end up doing is teaching people how to think creatively about what they're doing with their data."

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This article addresses the increasing importance of data analytics in companies and how the executive suite can evolve to capture data-related opportunities. The article talks about the most important tasks for executives whose roles will encompass this challenge. They include acquiring a knowledge of data analytics, defining strategy, making tech-purchase decisions and securing analytics expertise. Learn more about Big Data in the CGMA report "From insight to impact -- unlocking opportunities in Big Data."

Enterprises need little introduction these days to Big Data, the emerging field of information analytics that helps companies decipher the motivations and behaviors of large numbers of consumers. But experts say augmenting this top-down approach with customer-centric "Little Data" solutions can unlock new opportunities for customer engagement. Mark Bonchek, chief catalyst of Orbit & Co., writes that end-user analytics, such as applications that let consumers track their energy usage, combined with Big Data apps that enable them to compare their consumption with people in their neighborhood can create a powerful partnership between companies and their clients.

Big Data analytics are renewing concerns about privacy from the collection of massive amounts of data, Steve Lohr writes. "There's no bad data, only bad uses of data," Microsoft's Craig Mundie says. As Kaiser Permanente CEO George Halvorson says, "We're on the cusp of a golden age of medical science and care delivery. But a privacy backlash could cripple progress."

Naomi Bloom and Nenshad Bardoliwalla are interviewed on their areas of expertise in a video that accompanies this article. As Bloom says, "There aren't enough people who understand which analytics to use, let alone how to put it together. CMOs are drowning in analytic opportunities but need to learn to take advantage of the data." Bardoliwalla says "startups today have access to more computational power than ever before. Techniques in data visualization, data discovery and text mining are now available to the average person, creating a new generation of enterprise and consumer software that is easier to use."

Chris Lynch, formerly of Hewlett-Packard's Vertica unit, says he's taking aim at AT&T and Verizon with plans to "build the high-speed railway for Big Data." "I'm going to participate in the economics of showing them how to make a living on those networks in the Big Data world. If they don't, they're going to be relegated to the transport and everyone else on the endpoints is going to make the money," Lynch says.